[3] Code: REBIRTH || KTH

Ch4: A Fun Childhood

When I wake up, Taehyung is still sleeping, head leaning on the armrest with his knees pressed to his chest. I wonder how he managed to stay in the same position all night long. The TV is still on just like I left it, and I sit in silence wondering what the hell I gained from doing this. Nothing, obviously, since he's still sleeping, so I grab my phone and start going through my texts.

Yoongini:
Wanna get drunk tonight?

Me:
It's a sunday

He replies almost immediately, letting me know he has nothing to do today.

Yoongini:
More the reason to get drunk tonight

Me:
I have work tomorrow

Yoongini:
Fuck u

Yoongini:
Loser

Yoongini:
I'll get drunk with my man taehyung

I raise my eyebrows.

Me:
U guys r friends now?

Yoongini:
Jealous?

Me:
As if

I reply bitterly before turning off my phone, because I know it's kind of true. I am a bit jealous, especially now that it's still a bit awkward between me and Taehyung after everything that happened.

I look at him, taking in his pouty lips, cheek pressed against the couch. His hair falls over his eyes, covering them. He needs a haircut, I think to myself. He shifts in his sleep, so I quickly lean my head to the side and close my eyes, pretending to be asleep.

It stays silent for a minute or so before I open my eyes to check whether he's still sleeping or not, but instead, I find him staring at me with a blank face. I stretch my arms and fake a yawn, pretending I just woke up.

"Oh!" I exclaim with fake surprise, "Did I sleep here? I didn't even notice. The movie was boring anyway. Anyway, good morㅡ"

"How long have you been awake?" He cuts me off, his voice an octave deeper than usual. Hot.

I blink, trying to divert my attention away from his voice and to his question.

"What?" I say dumbfoundedly.

"You're a horrible actress," He states with a deadpan face, but I can't take him seriously with his messy hair and droopy eyes.

"I literally just woke up," I lie, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, right," He replies, looking away, his hair slightly swaying with the motion.

A few strands get inside his eye, so he shuts his eyes tightly, pushing his hair out of his face.

"You need a haircut," I point out.

"I know."

I lean my head back and peek at the window. The snow is still falling.

"Want me to do it for you?" I offer.

He turns his head back to me, squinting his eyes in suspicion. "You know how to cut hair?"

"I'm a woman, of course I do," I retort, crossing my arms sassily, "I used to cut Yoongi's hair all the time when we were teenagers. I was the only one he trusted with his hair."

Taehyung stares at me for a few seconds, not knowing if he should believe me or not, and I keep a proud smile on my face until he gives in.

And that's how we ended up in the bathroom with Taehyung sitting on a chair facing the mirror and me behind him with a pair of scissors and an electric razor.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" He asks warily, still skeptical about the whole ordeal.

"Of course!" I boast confidently, carefully trimming his bangs. "I did this a lot when I was a kid."

"This just reminded me," I add, "One time when I was in middle school Yoongi found out I cheated on my exams and he snitched on me to mom so I got punished. I was so mad I cut chunks of his hair while he was sleeping and he had to shave it all off. He looked so ugly."

I chuckle to myself as I remember, "So he put chewing gum in my hair as revenge and I had to cut it all off. We both ended up getting punished. We had to clean the whole house very thoroughly, and our electronics were taken away. Mom said we wouldn't get them back until we apologised to each other and hugged, which took waaayyy too long because we were both petty as hell."

"Sounds like you had a fun childhood," Taehyung says with a small smile.

"Yeah," I reply, taking a step back to scrutinise his hair before working with the scissors again, "What was your childhood like?"

I don't get a reply for a few seconds, so I look in the mirror to see Taehyung staring at space, lost in thought.

"Sorry," I say, pursing my lips, "Shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's alright," He replies quickly, "It's just... a lot has happened."

It goes quiet, nothing but the clicks of the scissors filling the air.

"I have good memories," He says after a while, "A lot. With grandma. She loved tea. We drank tea together everyday. And I hated tea. But I wanted to feel like a grown up so I never told her. But she always had her way of knowing everything even when I didn't tell her. Sometimes I wonder if she knew I hated tea and just went along with me pretending to love it to see how far I'd take it."

I smile as I listen to him, watching a smile form on his face as he talks.

"She sounds like a wonderful woman," I say.

He nods with a big smile. "She was."